New Delhi: The New India Foundation has revealed the six books on the shortlist for the fourth edition of the Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize, which comprises of books that are "creative and conscious insights into the history of India as it has emerged today: its diversity, difference, heterogeneity, and the very idea of the nation-state itself".

The six books are: The Death Script: Dreams and Delusions in Naxal Country by Ashutosh Bhardwaj, India’s First Dictatorship: The Emergency, 1975-77 by Christophe Jaffrelot and Pratinav Anil, Naoroji: Pioneer of Indian Nationalism by Dinyar Patel, Gandhi in the Gallery: The Art of Disobedience by Sumathi Ramaswamy, The Coolie’s Great War: Indian Labour in a Global Conflict 1914-1921 by Radhika Singha, Jugalbandi: The BJP Before Modi by Vinay Sitapati.

The winner of the prize will be announced on December 1.

The Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize rewards non-fiction literature on modern and contemporary India from writers of all nationalities published in the previous calendar year. The prize carries a cash award of Rs 15 lakh and a citation.

"The six books shortlisted ... are those that combine strong research with compelling writing in weaving together unique perspectives that resonated with the NIF jury," the foundation said in a press release.

The jury includes political scientist and author Niraja Gopal Jayal; entrepreneur Nandan Nilekani; historian and author Srinath Raghavan; historian and author Nayanjot Lahiri; and entrepreneur Manish Sabharwal.

The press release also provided brief descriptions of the books. The Death Script: Dreams and Delusions in Naxal Country by Ashutosh Bhardwaj (Fourth Estate, HarperCollins Publishers) is a "searing and stunningly crafted narrative based on the author’s reportage from India’s so-called ‘red corridor’", the release said. The book offers a sensitive treatment, poignant reflections on the human predicament in a danger zone.

Also Read: 'The Death Script': A Traumatised – and Traumatising – Account of Naxal Country

Christophe Jaffrelot and Pratinav Anil's India’s First Dictatorship: The Emergency, 1975-77 (HarperCollins Publishers) is a "masterful study of Indira Gandhi’s Emergency, and her son Sanjay’s role in it", the release said.

Also Read: Review: A Comprehensive Look Back at the Emergency Which Holds Important Lessons for Today

The press release describes Naoroji: Pioneer of Indian Nationalism by Dinyar Patel (Harvard University Press) as an "outstanding biography of Dadabhai Naoroji that illuminates his life and work – from his pioneering critique of imperialism to his engagement in British parliamentary politics, from his building of political alliances in Europe and America to his eventual declaration of self-rule as the only way forward for India".

Also Read: At Last, a Biography of India's Grand Old Man

Meanwhile, Gandhi in the Gallery: The Art of Disobedience by Sumathi Ramaswamy (Roli Books) is a "handsome, beautifully illustrated volume that explores how and why Mahatma Gandhi came to be the muse of several modern Indian artists who, by making him visually familiar through their art, have become Gandhi’s conscience-keepers in the present".

The Coolie’s Great War: Indian Labour in a Global Conflict 1914-1921 by Radhika Singha (HarperCollins Publishers) is a "pioneering history of the 550,000 non-combatants in the Indian Army who participated in the First World War as menial labour – porters, construction workers, cooks and water carriers – and on whose largely invisible labour the war effort of the British Empire depended so greatly".

Also Read: Book Review: Why the Coolie Was a Central Figure in World War I

Vinay Sitapati's Jugalbandi: The BJP Before Modi (Penguin Random House) is an "engaging account of the six decades long friendship between Atal Behari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani, and how their partnership and ideological unity forged the original success of the Bharatiya Janata Party", the release said.

Also Read: Book Review: The Yin and Yang in BJP's Rise

The prize is named after Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, who had contributed to the freedom struggle, to the women’s movement, to refugee rehabilitation and to the renewal of handicrafts. Previous winners of the prize are Milan Vaishnav for When Crime Pays: Money and Muscle in Indian Politics (HarperCollins Publishers) in 2018; Ornit Shani for How India Became Democratic (Penguin Random House) in 2019; and joint winners Amit Ahuja for Mobilizing the Marginalized: Ethnic Parties Without Ethnic Movements (Oxford University Press) and Jairam Ramesh for his biography of VK Krishna Menon, A Chequered Brilliance (Penguin Random House) in 2020.

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